twenty.....

BUON  COMPLEANNO!!!


(and many, many more...)

The season of the Siamese twins....

 During the next 6 months of their lives....

Candice and Caitlyn are in a phase or season of life where they are required to wear black scrubs everyday!

What are the chances of that???

Caitlyn is working in a dental office, training as a dental assistant,

and

Cj is going to school to be a Master Aesthetician..

which has been a fun little adventure for us as her family,

we've offered to be her guinea pigs for such things as facials, waxing, pedicures,

next up is chemical peels, botox and fillers....

(you don't have to twist my arm twice!)

it's a fun season to have siamese twins.
and we love them.

our graduate of 2012...

 We had a fabulous 4 days!!!!

Candice flew in Wednesday night, finally arriving at 3 am, 

she was a tad bit late due to those amazing thunderstorms that only Dallas can produce,

(cuz everything is bigger in Texas!)

we got three hours of sleep and were up and at 'em for a 7 am hair appt.
with the famous Pollyanna,

 she worked her magic and Candice looked just as beautiful as ever!

 Caitlyn graduation ceremony started at 10 am and I thought it was a beautiful ceremony,

we are so proud of her,

 for all of her accomplishments and the trials that she overcame being the new girl in a new school for her senior year!

Did I mention how heartwarming it was to have Cj here and for all of us to be together again as a family!

It did my heart good,

and

each night I would lay in bed and just thank Heavenly Father for the overwhelming feeling of gratitude I felt that we were all under one roof again.....

(9 months is a long time to be apart)

we were grateful for our cute Breanne and Rylee who just graduated themselves the week before,

but came to show some luv'en...

and, of course,

cuter than cute grandparents!!!!

 and Caitlyn's shoes were to die for,

with Caitlyn........ it's.all.about.the.shoes!

WE HAD A GREAT DAY!

she did it....

She graduated this morning.....

more to come.

count 'em baby....

3 more days till Candice comes....

AND

4 more days till Caitlyn graduates!!!

.30 more days.....

.let the countdown begin...

97 days until Candice comes..... and 98 days until Caitlyn graduates!!!

she's not excited or anything.....

18th...

We love what each of our children "bring" with them when they come into our lives,

we love that they are just born with it...

we especially love what Caitlyn

"brings"

to our family and have loved it now for 18 years straight!

thanks

and

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY!!!

we love you....

.

oh, just a little word to the wise...

Don't let an ice-skate run over your hand!

.

.

.

*we went this morning to her first physical therapy appointment,

it was intense,

they took off the bandage/cast and that was a work-out in and of itself...

it was so painful,

she was sweating and shaking and wincing and i had to walk out before i lost it,

(did i ever mention that i couldn't be a nurse?)

she was suppose to get rubber bands attached to her fingers today to start the bending process

but,

just removing the bandages was so overwhelming that

"Helen the hand lady"

decided that we should go back tomorrow!

ughh..

i took some pictures of her hand and her button that is sewed onto her fingernail,

but,

i'll save you the details....

your welcome!

.

.

.

It's been a rough 2 days, Caitlyn's been in a lot of pain,

and apparently,

I'm driving her nuts cuz I guess I'm asking too many questions....

like,

how are you feeling? or, what do you feel like eating? or, What can I do for you?

it's all the questions a mother is suppose to ask,

but.....

I'm just her mother, what do I know, right!?

it's just a good thing Dayton is here a lot cuz

when he's here, she's all smiles and pleasant and calm.

he's a good kid and has been a big help to her this last week.

I wish we could take him to Utah with us.

the grandma's left yesterday and Kurt left this morning,

and the house is quiet...

I'm glad the grandma's were able to go home, we gave them a run for there money the last couple of week, I've been grateful for them, but with everything that's gone on,

Peggy and I didn't get to buy our matching p.j.'s and watch a chick-flick....

we are still homeless....

and instead of leaving for Utah in a couple weeks as planned,

we'll be here a couple more weeks because Caitlyn has physical therapy,

which she starts tomorrow (ouch) and will last 6 weeks.

I'm not really freeking out about all this stuff,

like trying to move across the country, being homeless, Caitlyn's finger's,

I'm just taking it one day at a time,

and I have this funny feeling that everything is going to fall into place like it should when the time is right....

button, button who has the button?

it was worse than they thought...

nerve damage to her pinky,

and tendon damage to all 3 fingers,

and get this....

they had to actually sew a "button" on top of her fingernail

to help pull the tendon down,

so she could bend her finger in the weeks that follow while she does physical therapy....

they will take off the button in 7-8 weeks.

isn't that crazy....a button!

i'm grateful for good dr.s, good modern medicine and good buttons,

I can only hope it's a cute one!?!

i can remember playing "button, button, who has the button"? when i was a little girl.

while you were sleeping..

~Dayton~

This is what we looked like this morning at 5:45 am while waiting for Caitlyn...

it was reassuring to go back with her while she got all prepped and ready to go,

the happy juice made her giggle,

and all the dr.s and nurses were so nice and kind,

(it made me want to be a nurse when i grow up, if only there wasn't any blood and guts, i'd do it)

the anesthesiologists knelt on a bended knee and said a prayer before he started, it was so sweet,

and his handle-bar mustache was even sweeter!!!

we are just out in the waiting room, waiting.....

it shouldn't take too long, about an hour.

thank you for everyone's support.

i'm glad that this day is here...

and

that she is on her way to recovery and bending her fingers again.

we ate breakfast and laughed while she was sleeping.

there's no place like home....

I made it home to Texas with the most AMAZING thunder storm out my airplane window,

I've never flown in a storm before, and I can only say how "amazing" it truly was,

now because we landed safely on the ground....

it sure feels good to be home!

thank you Steph and Jenna for coming to pick me up and putting your lifes in danger to try to get me safely home...

thank you for so many other calls and voice messages.

again, I am so grateful for our ward family,

thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!

it's after 2 in the morning but i've needed time to just unwind and try to soak in my family,

I was glad Dayton was here, so I could give him a big hug and tell him thank-you for taking such good care of Caitlyn, he even went with her and grandma Peggy to the hand specialist this morning, and yes, Caitlyn will need surgery because it looks like the tendons and nerves were damaged, and she only has a small window of 10 days to get it done, so first thing tomorrow morning, i'll call and set up a surgery date....

she is sad that she won't be able to participate in the Jubilee, but we think it will still be a powerful experience to watch...

Caitlyn seems to be in good spirits,

but I'm worried abut this next go around, it will be harder and will be a longer healing process.

please continue to keep her in your prayers and don't be afraid to call or come over,

she's thankful for the distractions...

(Dayton and I laughing at Caitlyn @ Candice's graduation)

Kurt is on his way home,

which is always good cuz he has this way of helping calm our hearts.

I need a calm heart......that's why I'm a cosmetologist and not a nurse!

the skate...

We found a great house today that we loved...

then while we were eating lunch at Cafe' Rio,

(a most delicious place to eat)

Caitlyn called and was talking to Kurt, by the look on Kurt face I could tell something was wrong at home, and when I heard the word hospital,

i dropped my head and a prayer started pouring from my heart......

while Caitlyn and her hot friend were ice skating this morning, a skate ran over her hand....

5 stitches in her pinky, 4 in her ring finger and 3 in her middle finger!!!! ouch, i have been sick about it all day...

it's the worst feeling of having your child get hurt and you being far from home!

tomorrow morning she will go see a specialist to make sure that there is no nerves or tendon cut or damaged.

I got a flight out tomorrow afternoon, and Kurt will drive his big rig home in a few days.....

I am so, so grateful for Bro. Stimpson and Bro. Boyd who are our home- teachers, who we called and within the hour they were there to give Caitlyn a priesthood blessing, I'm grateful for the ward members who have called to help, thank you, I am humbled.

I am grateful for Dayton,

(her boy-friend) who stayed calm, took her to the hospital and stayed with her through the whole experience!

please send a little prayer Caitlyn's way...

thank-you!

and thank-you grandma Peggy for holding down the fort while we've been gone....

sorry, we've giving you a run for your money!

Caitlyn is 17....

It's actually Monday, but to me it's still Sunday, I haven't gone to bed yet....

Caitlyn's 17th birthday,

she was actually born on a Sunday morning 17 years ago....

I remember being woken up around 7 that morning, cuz something didn't feel right,

and wahla, sure enough, I was in labor,

and so true to a Caitlyn attribute,

I skipped the first stage of labor and was on my way, very fast and intensely, to the second stage,

(it makes me laugh cuz Caitlyn is still like that, she is a fast learner and likes to get thing done, she doesn't mess around!)

she was a few days late, her due date was on the 14th of December,

and I remember I was so ornery and tired of being pregnant and if one more person called me on the phone to ask if I'd had the baby yet... someone was going to get hurt!

Kurt called our Dr. and was relaying information to him,

(because, I was to ornery to talk),

about when labor started and how far apart the contraction were, and he, Dr. Campbell, had the nerve to tell me that he thought it would be awhile and to call him back in a few hours,

(Dr. Campbell delivered both Candice and Caitlyn,

he use to call them, Candi, the dandy and Cate, the great!

he was the best doctor....

Charlottesville, Virginia)

Hint..... don't try to tell a pregnant women her own business!

well, I remember saying to Kurt,

"well, you two can sit and talk on the phone and decide when you want to show up at the hospital BUT I'm going to the hospital now to have this baby"!

that's when I walked out the door, that's when Kurt realized I was serious and ready to go!!!!

When we got to the hospital sure enough, I was ready to go,

but, I had passed the window of opportunity to have an epidural,

I had just had Candice naturally 13 months earlier so my body knew what to do,

so hooray for me, I was having a natural childbirth again!

it really wasn't that bad!

my Dr. did arrive in time, and Caitlyn was born just right after that!

We loved her the moment we saw her...

We had a few names picked out,

both boys and girl names cuz at our ultrasound appt. they told us 90 percent chance it was a girl but don't paint the room pink just yet...

when she was born, unlike Candice, we didn't know what to name her,

our #1 name for her was Miranda, (a family name)

but for some reason, it just wasn't right,

I remember thinking, this girl has a name, I just don't know what it is yet?

The next day after she had spent the morning with me in my room, I sent her to the nursery so I could get some sleep, everything was quiet and my heart was just so full for this new baby,

I had just closed my eyes when I heard "Caitlyn" it was so loud,

I opened my eyes and sat up,

I sat up so fast, I winched in pain....I couldn't believe what I had just heard, and thought someone was in the hall, I sat there and listened to hear where it had come from, but again, everything was quiet and still....

I reached over and wrote Caitlyn on my bedside table, picked up the phone,

called Kurt, and said "come on over, I have her name".

When I said the name out loud to him, he just let the name soak in for a few seconds and then smiled...

Caitlyn is a common name nowadays, but 17 years ago, I had only heard it one other time years earlier from a sister in my mom's ward.

We are so glad to have Caitlyn in our family,

this morning as Kurt was saying our family prayer, he got all chocked up as he thanked our Heavenly Father for giving us the gift of Caitlyn, we are lucky to have her...

Happy Birthday Caity!!!

We love you!

cutest picture ever...

(cousin Lauren, Caitlyn, and Cj)

I have so much to blog about,

so many thoughts to write down

and back blogs to publish,

but

I'm in a small rut right now,

and, I'm afraid I won't do it justice.

I'm trying to climb out...

I had a neat experience on Sunday that is helping

and I want to blog about that later too.

but in the meantime,

I'm going to take a little morning nap

cuz

it was one of those nights last night and I was awake until 4.am.

happy napping.

Caitlyn says "Hi"

On Saturday...

Caitlyn ran in the Fort Worth Zoo Run,

rain and all....

she's good like that!

.

Broadway or Bust...

Caitlyn spent the last 5 days in New York City

with her school choir...

They did and saw some pretty amazing things while they were there,

Caitlyn loved it!

between Broadway shows and The CBS Early Morning Show,

shopping and Schwarz Toy Store,

she had fun!

she loved the sights, smells and all the crazy people!

Catch-up

Happy Easter and Happy General Conference,

love this weekend...

I always do a little spread on the kitchen table for the kids when they wake up

and walk down stairs,

(instead of Easter baskets)

this is something I learned from my Aunt Marilyn when I was a little girl,

focusing on Our Savior,

but of course still enjoying the best Easter candy ever!

Tomorrow for FHE we have our Easter Egg hunt,

we always do it in the dark with flashlights,

inside and out!

my kids love it!

We miss Candice, but luckily she is enjoying Easter as she got a ticket and got to go to Conference at the Conference Center...

and thanks to Aunt Diane and grandpa,

she has a car to drive while she is being our cute little foreign ex-change student in Vernal,

she is doing great!

Umm, guess who is driving?

yes, it's a glorious day...

Spencer auditioned for the 6th grade band for percussion,

for next year...

and he made it!!!

his teacher called me the next morning to tell me the good news,

and we surprised Spencer with this cookie to let him know that he made it,

when he got home from school!

On Friday, 3 of us moms, did hair and make-up for 6 girls

(one not shown)

for Mormon Prom,

which is a Prom that they do here,

you have to dress and dance modestly,

the kids love it, and the girls looked GORGEOUS!

their up-does where amazing,

it's always fun to get dressed up...

Caitlyn looked so sassy and cute in her girly pretty pink barbie dress!

and the cutie in the red dress had on black high-top sneakers, ha!

(we decided we're going to get together as moms and do each other's hair and make-up and go somewhere fun!)